Jack Spencer

The best Twin Cities concerts: 5/15-5/21

Finally! The weather is starting to catch up with the time of year. Just in time for Northeast's annual celebration, Art-A-Whirl. Featuring creative works from all over Minneapolis, the 331 club will be hosting local favorites such as Gospel Gossip, Carroll, Prissy Clerks, Crimes and more. Minneapol ... More >>

Danny Brown's Triple Rock show sparks unseemly oral sex controversy

Live performance is an incredibly intimate bond between artists and fans, but that intimacy got busted worse than Danny Brown's front tooth during Friday's show on Minneapolis's West Bank. At minimum, the Detroit rapper led several fans at the sold-out Triple Rock Social Club to believe, and many pr ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts this week: 3/6-3/12

With Spring approaching, forget the snow for a second, Minneapolis is selling out shows left and right. Wednesday night, sisters Tegan and Sara are welcomed to Minneapolis by a sold-out First Ave mainroom. Muse hits the Target Center Thursday and Imagine Dragons sells out the Varsity on Friday. Satu ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts this week: 2/27- 3/5

The shortest month of the year comes to an end, spend it out with the Minneapolis music scene! Dessa performs at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Thursday while the Current hosts a live Local Current set at the Amsterdam. Friday, The Tribe and Big Cats say goodbye at Triple Rock, Vita.mn presents ... More >>

The best Twin Cities concerts this week: 2/20-2/26

Plenty of shows going on in this last full week in February. Friday and Saturday prove to be the most busy. Friday, indie rock band Eels takes the First Avenue stage while psych poppers Ruby Suns play at the 7th Street Entry. ZZ Ward will be playing to a sold-out crowd at the Varsity and California ... More >>

The best concerts in the Twin Cities this week: February 13-19

Valentines Day week has arrived! Whether you plan on celebrating Valentines Day with a special someone, alone, or with your multiple cats, be sure to check out Lucy Michelle & The Velvet Lapelles' Greatest Valentines Mixtape show at the Cedar Cultural Center. On Friday synth-pop band Usonia rele ... More >>

The best concerts in the Twin Cities this week: 2/6-2/12

The second week of February is already underway with some great shows. Didn't get tickets to Lady Gaga? Have no fear. The Amsterdam will be hosting a Born this Way After Party with Lady Starlight and the Dirty Pearls. The silky voiced Cody ChesnuTT makes an appearance at the Triple Rock Th ... More >>

The best concerts in the Twin Cities this week: 1/30-2/5

The Twin Cities is starting to thaw out as January comes to an end. Friday night is especially busy. Retribution Gospel Choir plays the Turf Club while Minneapolis pays tribute to Joe Strummer in the First Avenue Mainroom. Semisonic songwriter Dan Wilson and brother Matt Wilson play a set at Pantage ... More >>

Best Twin Cities concerts 2012

The Gimme Noise crew attended a lot of concerts, festivals, events, gatherings, and what have you this past year. As is the case with every year in live music in the Twin Cities, the cacophonous noises etched history into the walls of our storied venues and into our minds. There were a lot of firsts ... More >>

Best Twin Cities concerts 2012: Staff lists

Here are the raw lists from many of City Pages' contributing writers and photograghers for the finest shows they attended this year. Hint: It's all over the place!See Also:Best Twin Cities concerts 201250 Awesome Concert Photos from 2012Best Twin Cities songs 2012: Staff lists Best Twin Cities album ... More >>

Best Twin Cities songs 2012: Staff lists

Okay, so there are a few songs out of the Twin Cities that were completely inescapable in 2012. (Nudge.) But when you're talking about a music community that's blasting in clubs, basements, garages, warehouses, automobiles, record stores, Soundclouds, public radio stations, college radio stations, a ... More >>

Best Twin Cities albums 2012: Staff lists

The waterfall of opinion flows s'more today with a collection of the best albums released locally in the Twin Cities in 2012. As opposed to the list that appeared in this week's issue, these are 14 distinct opinions on what was impressive in the past year, and a bunch of links to the related stories ... More >>

Best Minnesota albums of 2012

From Big Cats to Chastity Brown, local gems showcased their talents

Picked to Click 2012

After hundreds of ballots and votes, the best of the best new bands have been chosen

Picked to Click XXII rolls out live at 2 p.m.

For those of you who can't tune to 89.3 FM the Current in at work, keep refreshing Gimme Noise  after 2 p.m. We'll be counting down live with each of our ten Picked to Click finalists right here.Special thanks to writers Natalie Gallagher, Jeff Gage, David Hansen, Andrew Penkalski, Jack Spencer ... More >>

Miike Snow, Frightened Rabbit, A$AP Rocky, and more

Ty Segall, Ben Folds Five, Grizzly Bear, and more

Top 10 awesome concerts of August

See Also:First Avenue's 20 best concerts: The complete listFirst Avenue's 20 best concerts: Readers' picksAugust was sweltering, but we found the best way to beat the heat with concerts that were even hotter than it was outside. In some cases they were outside -- so just think about the thermometer- ... More >>

Dum Dum Girls, My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Polica, and more

Bass Drum of Death, Destroyer, Kelly Rowland, and more

Maps & Atlases, the Weeknd, Jimmy Cliff, and more

The Shins, Jonathan Richman, Walker Kong, and more

Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: The complete list

Related:Cover Story: How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset FestivalTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listTop 20 best Minnesota songs: The complete listIn 2012, rap music is as definitive a part of Minnesota lore as the Mall of America -- or anything else Muja Messiah name-checks in "Leech ... More >>

Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: #10-1

Related:Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: #20-11How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset FestivalTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listTop 20 best Minnesota songs: The complete list10> Mictlan Origin: Minneapolis/Hopkins/Los Angeles | Active: 2001 - present | Songs: "Prizefight," "Game Over, ... More >>

How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset Festival

Minnesota's biggest annual hip-hop showcase enters its fifth year

Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: #20-11

Related:How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset FestivalTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listTop 20 best Minnesota songs: The complete listIn 2012, rap music is as definitive a part of Minnesota lore as the Mall of America -- or anything else Muja Messiah name-checks in "Leech Lake" or Slug ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Van Halen, Rick Ross, the Cranberries, and more

Twin Cities rap mixtape roundup, Vol. 11

I'm damn excited to type a two digit number on this mix, and happy as always to present another mix of local tracks. Keep an eye out for something special on the anniversary of this mix.

Critics' Picks: Lucero, Thomas Dolby, White Rabbits, and more

Twin Cities rap mixtape roundup, Vol. 10

As we have the tendency to do every third Tuesday, Gimme Noise once again compiles eight standout tracks from Minnesota artists for you to kick back and vibe out with. Download them all and listen to them on repeat from now until next month!

Critics' Picks: Atmosphere, Get Cryphy, Souljazz Orchestra, and more

Critics' Picks: Schoolboy Q, Dr. Dog, Yacht, and more

Critics' Picks: Starkey, the Darkness, the Best Love Is Free, and more

TC Hip-Hop Awards plagued with Taser-fueled violence

​What a difference 48 hours can make in the life of the Twin Cities hip-hop community. Sunday night welcomed a positive showcase of local talent headlined by I Self Devine, but Friday night's sixth annual TC Hip-Hop Awards proved to follow a now-familiar theme of violence during its event at First ... More >>

Best nationally released albums of 2011

​It's a good thing we waited until the last week of 2011 to publish our final best-album lists, since a few bands managed to eke out stellar releases just this December (the Roots' undun and the Black Keys' El Camino in particular made their way onto a few staffers' lists). With only a few da ... More >>

Minnesota's Best Albums of 2011

Low, Doomtree, Brute Heart top best local releases

Critics' Picks: Foster the People, Wilco, Beirut, and more

Ray Davies, Culture Cry Wolf, and more

Picked to Click 2011

The Cloak Ox, Night Moves, and more

Wize Guyz, Sound Unseen featured in this week's City Pages

Photo by Chris McDuffie​It's Hump Day, which can only mean one thing here at Gimme Noise headquarters: It's time for the print edition of our blog to hit newsstands. Here's a sneak peek of what we have in store for you:

Critics' Picks: Adele, Steely Dan, Taurus, and more

Lovecat, Marvelle playing Music & Movies afterparty at Nick and Eddie warehouse tonight

Lovecat photo by Ashley Gold​About a month back we wrote about a new series called GenreBeast that's been taking over the warehouse behind Nick and Eddie every Monday night this summer. Over the past few weeks the event has grown into a cool culture-clash that intentionally tosses together bands f ... More >>

GenreBeast kicks off an eclectic series at Nick and Eddie tonight

​In an ambitious series of events that will continue through the rest of the summer, the mixed-bag event GenreBeast launches at the warehouse behind Nick and Eddie tonight with performers that span from metal to country to rap, giving anyone who claims that the Twin Cities music community is lacki ... More >>

Top 10 concert photos of the summer so far

It's been a rainy start to our summer so far, but that hasn't stopped Twin Cities fans from busting out their ponchos and going outdoors to take in live music. Between Rock the Garden, Soundset, the Warped Tour, and shows at the Minnesota Zoo's amphitheater, concertgoers have had plenty of chances t ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Yelawolf, DeVotchKa, Bright Eyes, and more

Yelawolf at First Avenue: Win free tickets via Facebook

​Yelawolf returns to First Avenue to headline the Mainroom tomorrow night, just five months after playing the same room as an opening act for Wiz Khalifa. "The tatted-up skater with a trailer park twang and a love for his Chevy could easily rely on his dirtbag charm and smooth vocals alone to garn ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Snoop, the Current's birthday party, and more

Communist Daughter, Fifth Element's open-mic night featured in this week's paper

Photo by Ben ClarkCommunist Daughter​We're entering a season of local CD releases, so prepared to be inundated over the next few weeks as we make our way through all the great local albums coming out this April. This week, we drove down to Prescott, Wisconsin to hang out with Johnny Solomon and hi ... More >>